Catching Fire V2
by REDSTORMAR555
Summary: After his failed attempt on a certain someones life, Alto returns to Twelve with Katniss. Both are wanting everything to return to some sense of normality, which they do get for awhile. But it passes by much too fast, and with the violence in the districts at an all time high, anything could happen. If you want to get it read my first story. "Hunger Games V2"
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. For those who were waiting for this, sorry. **

**Don't own Hunger Games. **

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Hm.

How to proceed with this?

Six deer. Four hunters.

Well that's not hard.

The deer haven't noticed us yet, so I'll see if everyone else can get to positions. All the hunters have the district twelve look, except for one; olive skin, black hair, and grey eyes. I look at the boy at my right. I point my left forearm up, and point at it with my fingers on my free hand. Nlon nods and takes to a tree. I turn to the girl behind me and motion to some bushes a few yards to my left. Fash takes to them. Peeta puts a few feet between us. He and I arm our bows, Peeta with one arrow, and three arrows for me. We hold them aiming at the deer, waiting for the two tone note that Katniss taught me as a sign that the others are ready. We hear the note.

"Shoot already!" A voice that's neither mine nor my hunters shouts. An arrow embeds itself into the tree next to my head. The deer's are startled by the noise and they make a move to take off. My hunters fire.

Six arrows fly.

Six deer drop.

I can hear the collection of sighs my little hunting team give at almost leaving empty handed. If I'm correct, that was Gale's voice. Guess he didn't have the patience for Katniss waiting for the shot. The hunters, Peeta and I move forward to retrieve the deer. Peeta and Nlron take two deer while Fash and I take one.

"Come on. Let's take these back to the shelter." Peeta says.

We start making our way through the forest. We aren't that far away from the shelter, which two of these people are there actual home. Were only about half an hour out. There's no conversation on our way back, only the sounds of the forest and the needles crunching under our boots. On our way, we run into another hunting group who came out with hares and a few beavers ties to their belts. During that meeting, we hear a growl. We turn to see a bear staring us down.

"I got this." I point at the other hunting group. "Stay close, you may need to take this bear back." They nod and take to a safer area for the time while my team makes their way back to the shelter.

I take my tomahawk in my hand. The bear seems aggressive, which possibly means that were in its territory. I don't see any cubs with it. Either that or it's hungry enough to attack anything it sees. It roars and charges. I simply stand, waiting for him to get in range. When he gets within a few meters, I spin myself once and throw.

The bear's legs give out and it slams into the ground face first. Due to the inertia that it still has from the running, he continues sliding forward before coming to a stop a few inches in front of me. I pull my tomahawk free from its head.

"I remember when this was exciting." I say aloud. "Come on, it's dead."

The other group comes and they all pick the bear up after some difficulties. I pick the deer back up.

"I'll check up on you guys in a minute."

"Hawthorne's house?" One of them asks.

"Hawthorne's house."

"Alright. We'll see you an a few." They slowly walk with the bear until their out of my sight.

I begin walking to where Gale and Katniss would get through to get out here; that supposedly electrified fence. I'll slip through and hand this to Hazelle. Kantiss and I had agreed that we would help supply Gale's family since he's working in the mines almost everyday. We both offered him money, but he won't accept it, I don't know why. I've tried asking him, but he never answers me. That's the other thing about Gale; he doesn't like me. When he talked to me a year ago, he seemed like a nice person. But now…I don't know. He despises me for some reason. It's not the money or the status or the house. He hasn't given any reason to hate me, but he does. When I'm around him, he pretends that I'm not even there, and even when he recognizes me, he treats me like trash, when Katniss is not around of course. She knows that Gale and I aren't on good terms and she's tried everything she can think of to break the ice, but nothing works.

I hear footsteps that aren't my own. I turn my head slightly to find Katniss with ten hares.

"Hi." She says

"Hey." I reply. She picks the pace up to match mine.

"So how'd you're hunt go?" I ask as I glance at the full moon high above the horizon.

"Good. I guess."

"You guess?"

"Oh, Gale was angry like he always is. He decided to vent his anger out on me today which I didn't take a liking to."

"Well, from what I've seen, Gale's been angry ever since we came back from the Games. I've tried asking him why, but he doesn't say."

"I've tried asking him too, but he doesn't tell me either. I wish he would." She says in a semi irritated voice.

"Maybe we have to wait a little longer for him to open up." I say.

Life over here in twelve hasn't been the same since the Hunger Games. That would be obvious. When we came back, the whole place was ecstatic. It had been over thirty years since twelve had won, the last winner being Haymitch. There were parties and ceremonies galore for a few weeks, then things started to subside. After the cameras had left, Katniss and I had gone forward with what she called 'ground rules'. Basically, everything that happened in the arena and the Capital, the star-crossed lover's thing, she didn't like all that too much. So we agreed that we'd ease up on that. I still get to hold her sometimes, and sneak kisses, which she hates, but it's worth it to see her reactions. Basically, were mediocre when showing our affection. The Games didn't leave us unscathed thought. I still have that scar the Nazo's gave me at the last day of the Games on my chest. That and both Katniss and I can't rid ourselves of the nightmares we have every night, either of the deaths we witnessed or took part in. After we saw that we weren't going to get sleep, we tried sleeping together. That helps a lot for us. Katniss doesn't have any nightmares anymore, but I still get some periodically. But it's better then it was before.

"I have a question Katniss."

"And what might that be?"

"I've noticed your hair's been down and not tied like you use to have it." I prod her hair with my finger. "Why is that?"

"I don't know. I still tie it, though not as often anymore. Maybe I just like it this way."

"Hn." I respond while still prodding her hair.

"Stop fingering my hair."

I stop immediately. "Um…well, I wouldn't have put it that way but-"

"I didn't mean it like that you pervert!" She says while punching me in the stomach.

After a few more minutes of walking, Katniss and I slip through the hole in the fence, though it takes a few minutes to get the deer through. We quickly make our way to Hawthorne's house, because I still have my bow, knife, and tomahawk on me. I drop the deer when we make it to their front door.

"Where's Gale?" I ask.

"He's still in the woods, trying to clear his head." Katniss replies. "You're going to check on your friends?"

"Yeah. I'm doing that right now. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Alright Alto." Katniss says. I start making my way to the shelter.

If you're curious to what the shelter is it's just that, a shelter. The building's the orphanage that I lived in as a child. It had closed down due to unknown reasons and that's where many others live. I use to live there too, but after the Games, they gave me a house at Victor Village. I get the people who live in there food through money and hunting. I do hunting first, but if I'm having an off day, I'll buy the food. Don't think I do that because I'm greedy; that's not it. It's because I love hunting, and it gives me something to do other then cook.

Yeah. We were forced to choose an occupation to do after we won the Games. Katniss chose clothing design, but I bet Cinna does that for her. I chose cooking. Three times a week, a professional chef from the Capital, whose name is Keth, comes over my house and teaches me how to cook different dishes. He's very good company. I've gotten the basics of cooking right now, but I can make deserts like no one else, especially if it has chocolate in its ingredients. Ever since I've tried it at the Capital, I've been hooked on the stuff. It's almost like a drug to me. I always have some of it everyday, which is about a five by five block.

Aw, now I want more chocolate. I'll get some at my house before going to Katniss. It only takes a few minutes to get to the shelter, an old rundown building that looks more like a scaled down aircraft hanger bay that has five floors. I don't knock, just turn the handle and push the door open.

We were able to get the electricity working in this place the second year I was here, but it always shorted out. I was able to fix that when I came back with a ton of money. I was able to fix the electrical, water, and gas lines in the building. I was able to buy everyone who lives here a bed with sheets, some cloths, and toys for the younger kids. The occupants of this building are both young and old, ranging from newborns, to young adults, to people who we consider are older then dirt. Most of everyone who lives here who's of age work for money; some in the mines, some wash cloths, others care for other children, and others work helping the merchant class that live here. The younger guys have better luck at that, especially with the merchant families that have a daughter that's the guy's age. Heh, heh.

The room I'm in doesn't have too many people in here. They must be eating in the second floor. I make my way up the stairs to the dinning area. I was right. Everyone was busy digging into the bear, deer, hare, and beavers that we brought. Everyone sees me enter and they start regarding me. Peetas' here too.

"Anything interesting happen at Gales?" He asks.

"No. He was still in the forest trying to clear his head. That's what Katniss told me." I reply.

"He seems to be angry all the time, mostly at you."

"Yeah. I don't know why."

"Maybe he's angry that you took his girl from him." Fash says with some humor, elbowing me in the ribs lightly.

I chuckle a little. "I don't think that's it. When I asked Katniss about that back in the Games, she said they were just friends. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Well if that's not the case, then Gale's one complicated son of a bitch." Nlon says before digging in to the bear meat in his hands.

"You're telling me." I take some bear meat as well. We all sit on the floor; there are too many people in this room at one time to have any tables and fit us all. That and it doubles as a sleeping area. There's lot of conversation in the room. I hear laughs and shouts of mock anger. It's something I enjoy seeing. Everyone having a good time. Some time during the meal, Peeta and another friend, Catlin, start wrestling each other, and everyone started placing bets with the left over food. It's rather comical. I leave sometime in the middle of the 'game' to get to my house. I more or less run to it. When I enter, I go to my bathroom to shower. After, I throw on some sweats and that's it. I don't sleep with a shirt on because it gets too hot for me. As I make my way out my door, I skid to a stop. I start to the covers in the kitchen. I open to find many spices and other things that Keth supplied me with for the cooking classes. I reach in to the very back of the covers and pull out a brick of chocolate at least five inches thick.

When I said I love chocolate, I meant it.

Katniss's house isn't far at all. In fact, it's right next to my house. I don't try to knock and use the front door, because her mother's kind of protective. When we came back and they interviewed her about the relationship Katniss and I had, she said that, while I was the very model of what a young man should be, Katniss wasn't old enough to have any boyfriend at all. She followed this with a pointed look at me. There were some laughs and someone said. "Someone's in trouble." She doesn't mind us being mediocre in our relationship, but she still doesn't see it as something we should worry about at our age. She does know that Katniss has nightmares and that both of us sleep with each other to stop or lessen them. She's not too comfortable with that and when we did start that, Katniss's mother talked with both of us. She basically said, and in her words. "You two be responsible. I'm still too young to be a grandma." You could imagine how disturbed and embarrassed we were. I don't try to disturb her mom and sister. That's why I don't use the front door. She lives on the second floor, but there's a tree that's right next to her window that I can easily clime. So, I just clime the tree and enter through the window. She doesn't close the window, so I don't have to knock and wait. When I enter, Katniss is wearing a nightgown and folding her hunting cloths.

"I'm back." I say.

"I can see that." She says tiredly. She looks at my hand. "Do you always need chocolate?"

"Yes. We already talked about this." I break off a piece.

"I know, I know." She takes the piece I hand to her.

After Katniss shoves her cloths into her drawer and I devour the chocolate, we make it to the bed and slip under the covers. We lay the way we slept back in the Games; she uses my arm as a pillow and my other arm wraps around her waist.

"Night Katniss."

"Night Alto."

Sleep comes within minutes.

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**Events take place before the book.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't own Hunger Games.**

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**Alto POV**

Sunlight fills the room and I can smell just a hint of pines. I groggily open my eyes to it. I had forgotten to close the window, so the curtains were blow open. I lift my pillow above my head and cover it to block out the light while groaning. Katniss is still out next to me, having done the same thing I've done.

'I'm awake. So I might as well get up.' I think after a few minutes of laying there.

I slowly spin myself around and clime out of bed. I take a moment to stretch and pop my back and knees in place before making my way down to the kitchen. As I open the door, the aroma of what I thing is meat, maybe eggs, and cheese hit me.

'Is that what I think it is?' I quicken my pace a little.

When I reach the bottom floor, I'm thrown to the ground to my back when something slams into me. I look down to see Prim sitting on my chest.

"Good morning Alto." She says while waving her hand.

"Is all this necessary?" I ask with a smile, propping myself on my elbows.

"Yes. Yes it is." She replies with a grin.

"Prim. What did I tell you about tackling Alto?" Her mom calls in the kitchen.

"That I shouldn't do it." She replies with a small aggravated tone as gets off me.

She helps me up and leads me to the kitchen where her mom's set up breakfast. She's made quiet I substantial amount. Eggs, pork strips, pancakes, as Keth calls them, chorizo, and my favorite, migitas, eggs with torn tortillas with melted cheese all over it with a tall glass of either orange juice or milk.

It's a normal thing for her. Since I'm always here in the morning, she makes everyone breakfast.

"How did you know?" I ask as I stare intensely at the migitas. This is the first time she's made this.

"I just remember hearing about it some where. I just decided to make it now." She replies with a small grin. "Go ahead."

I take half of the migitas on my plate alone and ignore everything else. I take a piece with my fork and put it in my mouth.

"Ohhhh, it's been too long since I've had these." I say, now in complete bliss.

"Don't hog it all." Katniss says from behind me.

"If you woke up earlier I wouldn't be hogging it."

"If you weren't so fat, you wouldn't hog it in the first place."

"Fat? Where do you see fat on this?" I jester to myself.

"You're hopeless." She says in a mock voice while rolling her eyes. I simply chuckle.

Everyone else starts eating after our mock fight. Maybe an half an hour into the meal I stop eating. I don't want to be a pig, so they'll probably have leftovers. I bid them a good bye and make my way to my house. There I change into some jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt before heading out.

I don't hunt today, so I have nothing to do right now. Keth doesn't come until tomorrow. Hmm. Maybe I'll just hang around at the shelter. I do that almost all the time. It gets boring after awhile, but I've been just about everywhere.

No. I'm going to the wilderness today. I'll just wander around out there, get to some areas I haven't been to.

I walk to the shelter at a brisk pace. I always get out to the forest that way. The building's right next to the wall that encloses us. We basically dug a hole the size of a car through it, so we aren't seen when we bring in game.

When I make it inside, most of the beds are empty. The only ones that are occupied have the old and young. I walk over to a locker on the far side of the building that holds all of our hunting equipment. I take my tomahawk and knife, as a means of defense if something attacks me, and a bag, incase I find something worth keeping or find food I don't have to kill. I take one step to the left and walk to the opening in the wall, which of course has a 12 ft steel door blocking it. I open one of the double doors, walk out, and close the door behind me.

So I'll go to the place where we killed the deer last night and start exploring from there. I haven't been farther out then that.

I walk out for awhile, about mid day, keeping track of where I go by slashing an X on trees I pass. I do sit down for a short time, eating some barriers, before I continue. The newer areas I've been to look much like the area's I hunt in; forest with rivers, creeks, and some plains. There is newer scenery, like a white capped mountain range that I see at the top of this waterfall I found. From there, I decide that I need to go back because the only way to explore more is to jump off this and hope I live.

When I'm at what I think is the halfway point, some light reflects off something and hits my eyes. I don't know what it is, so I turn right to investigate. After a few minutes of searching the ground, I trip over a tree root.

"Crap!"

I fall into some bushes that have thorns on them because there's some pain like something scratched me, mostly on my face. That and my cloths are getting caught in them.

"Damn it." I roll, uprooting the bush and my feet hit something wet.

At first I think it's a small creek, still looking at my feet. I look up to find a small lake situated between the forest, which occupies the left shore, boulders on the shore opposite of me, and a grassy plain that looks miles across on the right shore. Plant's surround the entire lake as well as nests of some kind of bird, and the smell of blossoms fill the air.

"Hmm." I look up at the sun that's still high above the sky.

"It's been warm lately, so why not?" I say as I pull of my shoes.

I didn't dress to go swimming, but does that matter to me? I take my cloths off, leaving my boxers on. I fold everything neatly and lay them next to the shore along with my weapons and bag. I start walking into the water.

It's a good change. The water's cool compared to the recently hot days we've been having. The muddy lakebed underneath my feet feels great, and there's a nice breeze picking up now.

The lake's deep enough in the center that I have to swim, but I can walk most of it. I dive under to see how deep it really is. It's only about ten feet, maybe a little deeper.

I swim backwards, do underwater spins, throw punches and kicks for the fun of it, and just lie on my back on the water. I almost fall asleep at one point, nearly drowning myself in the process.

I don't know how long I've been here for, but I make my way out of the water. I'll have to dry off, so I start wandering around the lake. I raid a few nests, and am able to get three waterfowls before I decide to lie in the grass for half an hour.

"Now I just need to remember where this place is." I say. After a few minutes of listening to the wind, I hear shoes on rock. I look up to find Katniss giving me a stern look.

"What are you doing here?" She asks with an angry voice.

"I was swimming. I don't see how that's something to get angry over." I say, question evident in my voice.

"How did you find this lake?"

"I was out exploring and stumbled on it. Literally." I motion to the uprooted bush I rolled through.

She sighs, and her face softens a bit. "Yeah, that's nothing to get angry about."

"What, is this your lake?"

"Actually, it is." She says in a matter of fact tone while placing her hands on her hips..

"Where's your name written on this?"

She points to a pair of Katniss plants at the rim of the water.

"Oh." My face takes mock anger and she smirks at me.

"Don't worry; you have my permeation to swim in this lake. Only you have to do something for me."

"And what might that be?"

"Don't tell anyone else about this place."

I raise an eyebrow. "Why?"

"This lake is special to me. I've known about this lake for years. My father showed me this place when I was young."

"Oh." I say while shaking my head in realization. "I see. I see. Don't worry Katniss; I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks." She says.

"No problem."

There's a noise, both Katniss and I can hear it. We don't know what it is at first, but as it gets closer, we start to hear a deep hum, as well as the familiar mockingjay's warning call.

"Hovercraft! Hold your breath!" I say as I grab hold of her and pull her into the water.

And just in time, the hovercraft appears above us. It seems to linger around the area for a short time above the water, doing a 360 to check the area. After a minute or so, (Katniss and I can hold our breaths for awhile.) it takes to the west.

Katniss breaks the surface first, inhaling air and dragging herself out of the water.

"Warn me quicker next time." She says in deep breaths.

"I will next time, but I think we should head back. Don't want another sneaking up on us." I tell her, looking to the sky for another to appear out of nowhere.

"Give me a minute." She says.

While she gets her breathing even, I dry myself with my shirt before throwing my cloths back on, including my now wet shirt.

"I was planning on swimming today, but that hovercraft ruined it." She says while trying to squeeze excess water out of her cloths still on her body.

"Maybe you can swim tomorrow." I say.

"Maybe. But I don't want you following me. God knows what you would do."

What I would-Damn it Katniss!" I say with a light red hue on my face. "I'm not like that! The hell's wrong with you thinking like that!?"

"Call it even for what you pulled last week." She says with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah." I wave my hand over my shoulder.

I hate it when she pulls that.

But then again, I do the same thing.

It takes us till sundown to get back to twelve. I tell Katniss that I have to drop off the food I got at the shelter. Before I'm able to take off, she grabs my arm.

"Remember; don't say anything about the lake." She says while shaking me slightly.

"I'll remember." I plant a quick kiss on her head. "I'll see you later.

Katniss gives me a death glare, but she decides to play along with it, because she gives me a kiss on my cheek. She does whisper something to me though.

"I'll get you later." She's still trying to kill me with her eyes.

I smirk and give a small chuckle as I take off towards the shelter.

Wish everyday was like this. Heh heh.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for such a delay. The last few months haven't been kind. I'd rather not talk about it. Anyway, R&R please. And thank you.**

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Cooking day. I look forward to this a lot. Three times a month he comes to teach me how to cook or bake different dishes. I love the desserts. Wonder what we'll make today.

I sit in the front yard waiting for him. He'll be here in a few minutes if nothing happened with his family.

He's been having some family troubles. His family's fighting amongst themselves right now. His wife and he are fine, but his father's trying to get custody of his two children, deeming it that they don't deserve children. His father always disapproved of his wife. She came from a poor family and he came from a rich family. He kind of believed in 'rich should marry rich for power and wealth' mentality. Kind of pisses me off when I think about it.

I wave my hand in front of of my face, scaring the fly that wasn't leaving me alone.

"Will he get here?" I ask myself, now laying on the cool green grass. I wouldn't be angry if he didn't show.

I don't know how long I wait, because I end up falling asleep on my yard. I don't wake until early noon when I get kicked in the side lightly.

"Huh?" I shoot straight up.

"Morning boy." A deep voice said.

"Keth?" I say as I look up to confirm it.

Keth was a man of short complexion. He was nearing sixty, his white hair showed that. His skin was the same tan color my skin is. His eyes were beady black, but he had a warm face. He always wore white, all the time. He already had an apron on.

"Nice nap boy?" He asks.

"Yeah, till you ruined it."

"I'll make sure to throw you into a lake next time." He said with a smirk.

"I didn't think that you'd come, with all that's happening with your family."

"Don't worry about it. I solved the whole thing."

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow. "How?"

"I'll just say I have friends in high places." His smirk grew larger.

"Well hell, why didn't you use him sooner?"

"Well I just met him."

"Oh. Ok."

"Alright, get up boy. I'm only here for so long." He says while kicking me lightly once more.

"So what's for today?" I say as I stand and stretch.

"Only two dishes; Lasagna and CRÃŠPES with Vanilla Ice Cream.

"Sounds complicated."

"Most foods sound complicated. Some are, others aren't." He said as we made our way into the house.

"So what do we start with?" I ask while rolling my sleeves up. I now had a white apron myself. I was in the kitchen, surrounded by many ingredients, pots, and pans.

"We'll start with Lasagna. You'll be making it and I'll observe." He handed me the recipe.

"Hmm. 11 pounds sweet Italian sausage, 3/4 pounds lean ground beef, 1/2 cup minced onion, 2 cloves garlic, crushed, 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste, 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves, 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 12 lasagna noodles, 16 ounces ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, and sliced, 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Wow. That's a lot. Oy. I have my work cut out for me."

"Don't worry. Just go by this." He pointed to the second paper. "It gives basics of how to make it. You have to figure out the rest."

"Alright. Here we go." I say as I grab sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic and head to my dutch oven. (He spared no expense.) I stick them in the oven and put the heat on medium. I head to the counter, and put crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water into a big pot.

I fill a large pot of lightly salted water and put it on the stove. I need to bring it to a boil. I wait a little bit before checking the things in the Dutch oven. They're brown now, so I decide to throw it in with the tomato mix. I add sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon of salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of parsley. I stir for two minutes, then let it simmer.

I throw the Lasagna into the boiling water and let it sit in there for about ten minutes before taking them out, rinsing it in cold water, and combine ricotta cheese with egg, the remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

"So how's life?" Keth asks while watching my progress.

"It's alright. I hunt for the people who occupy the Shelter. I get on Katniss' nerves. We both have our perverted moments." I say as I stir the tomato and meat mix.

"Anything new about that boy Gale?"

A frown tugs lightly on my lips, and I don't answer.

"That bad?"

"I don't know what his problem is. He doesn't envy me. He doesn't care about the house or the money or the statues. I mean, what did I do to make him hate me so much? I never insulted him, his friends, or anyone else he may see as close, but he ignores me when I'm around him, treats me like dirt when we're alone, saying how pathetic I am. It's just...I just don't get him." I sigh, frustrated as I rub my head. This talk's starting to give me a headache.

"I'll stop talking about it. I don't want to stress you." Keth says with an apologetic look.

"It's alright Keth. It's just confusing is all." I say as I keep stirring.

It takes about an hour for the meat sauce to be ready, and I have to stir periodically. While it was simmering, I had preheated the oven to what I thought was the right temperature, 375 degrees F.

"While we're waiting for that, let's start on the CRÃŠPES." I look at the list for the next recipe.

"3 egg yolks, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, cups heavy cream, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk, 6 tbsp. melted butter, cooled, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Not as complicated." I say.

I whisk together egg yolks, milk, sugar, and salt in the top of a double boiler, then added the vanilla bean. I cook over simmering water over medium heat and stir constantly. I do this for a few minutes until the custard coats the back of the spoon. I remove from the heat and cooled.

I beat the eggs, 3/4 cup water, milk, and 4 tbsp. of the butter in a medium bowl. I sift in flour and salt and mix well. I lightly brush a small skillet with remaining 2 tbsp. butter and place over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot but not smoking, pour in 1/4 cup batter. I quickly lift the skillet and swirl batter to make a thin crape. I cook until bubbles form on top and the edges begin to brown. I turn with a spatula and cook till golden. It's ice cream had finished cooling, so now it throw in vanilla bean, stir it in the cream, cover, and chill completely, then pour the custard into ice cream maker and process.

I grab a baking dish and spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce on the plate. Then I arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce, spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture, and top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. I spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. I repeat this until I'm out of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. I grab foil, spray it with olive oil and place it on top of the dish before placing it in the oven. I set the time for 25 minutes.

I placed a scoop of ice cream in the center of each crape and fold crape around it. I place it on the counter and serve with fresh berries.

"We'll try that later. Finish the Lasagna."

After the 25 minutes, I remove the foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes. I take it out and let it cool for ten minutes before handing it to Keth.

He takes a look at it, basically analyzing everything I put into it. He takes his fork, stabs it, rips a piece off, and sticks the fork in his mouth.

"Well? How'd I do?"

He chews, swallows, and then looks at me.

"Well done boy." He said with thumbs up. I simply smile.

"Next." He takes a crack at the CRÃŠPES. It was the same results.

"You're getting good at this." He said while walking to a cabinet.

"I had a good teacher." I say while getting myself a plate.

Keth pulled a wine bottle out of the cabinet and two wine glases.

"Wine?" I ask. "Why wine?"

"You're doing a good job with cooking boy. If you wanted to, you could open a restaurant. A very successful restaurant."

"I learned that quickly?" I say while taking a peice of Lasagna into my mouth.

"You seem like the one to learn quickly. How fast did you learn to use a tomahawk or throwing knifes of a sword?" He begins poring wine to the glasses.

"You have a point." I say.

"See? I told you I was right." He handed me the the glass.

"You never said that."

"Just pretend I did." I give a small laugh.

"Technically, you don't even need me here to teach you."

"Oh come on. I may be good, but that doesn't mean I'm the best. Besides, you're a friend."

"Yeah." He said as he shook his wine before rising is.

"To friends."

"To friends." We bring the glasses together, drink, and then begin devouring the food.

Best damn food I ever eaten.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is the nightmare and problematic portion of the story. **

* * *

I wake to heavy breathing.

I open my eyes groggily, at first curious at the sound, and turn to Alto who's next to me. He's breathing heavily, has a cold sweat, and his face looks distressed. He's shaking slightly as well as mumbling.

'Not this again.'

It's not that I see it annoying, but it pains me to see him like this. He's able to stop my nightmares, but I can't seem to stop his from coming back. He kind of scares me when this happens. He sometimes throws himself out of the bed when he wakes. He hasn't done that in awhile, but it could happen.

"Come on. Come out already." He mumbles.

'Where do I remember those words?' I think. 'Last day of the Games?'

I place my hand on his cheek. His shaking stops, and his breathing slows a little, but soon after, he starts shaking even more violently. I furrow my eyebrows.

"No, no, no." His voice's starting to get louder.

"Alto." I shake him slightly. "Alto. Wake up."

"God help me." Louder this time.

"Alto."

"Come out already!" Even louder.

I'm shaking him violently now.

"Alto, wake up!" My mom's going to hear this.

"CATO!"

"ALTO!"

Everything's a blur, then I find myself with my back on the floor, a slight pain in my head, Alto holding me down with a hand on my neck, his other cocked back in a fist. His eyes are wild, dilated, I'm not sure if he knows where he is.

"Alto. It's Katniss. It's Katniss." I say shakily and slowly, not making any movement in fear of his reaction.

He continues to stare at me, his expression on his face unchanged for a few seconds before I see color flow back into his eyes again.

"K-K-Katniss?" He stutters. He takes in what he's doing and quickly picks me up.

"Oh god! I'm-I'm sorry! I-I-I didn't know what I was doing! It's just that-that-that-that-"

"It's alright Alto." I say while holding him. "It's alright." He takes hold of me too.

"I-I didn't hurt you did I?" He asks, still panicked. "Dear god, please don't tell me I hurt you-you."

"No. No. You just scared me." I reassure him.

We stay like that for awhile, making sure the other's alright. My mom checks on us, she heard the screaming. I tell her we're fine, though Alto was still shaken a bit with the thought of hurting me. She leaves us, and I hold onto Alto tighter. I give a sad sigh too.

This was the first time he ever attacked me because of the nightmares.

"W-what's wrong Katniss?"

"Oh, I hate that I can't take your nightmares away. You take mine away, but you keep having them. It pisses me off that I can't help you the way you help me." I say, my tone very soft. I sound weak. I don't like that. But it's hard not to sound like that when you can't do anything to help someone you care about. Besides, everyone has a show of weakness now and then, no matter how cold you are or may seem. That, and Alto generally makes me act that way. He makes me show my feelings for often then I would normally show.

"Katniss." He lifts my head with his hand under my chin. "You help a lot. I don't think, no, I-I know I wouldn't sleep if you weren't here. I may have nightmares time and a-again, but there's not much we can do about that. It takes time to h-heal."

"But THEY won't give us time to heal." I say with anger. "They'll just remind us who really pulls the strings."

"Stop." Alto said somewhat sternly. "I don't need anymore a-aggravation as it is right now."

"Sorry." I say looking down.

"We just need to make the best of-of it Katniss. That's all we can do." We both stand and make our way back to the bed.

"I love you Katniss."

"I love you Alto." Another needed expression of weakness, though I don't mind this one. We share a short kiss before falling asleep in each others arms.

* * *

**Hours later...**

"You need a bath." Katniss says to me.

"You need one too." I reply. "I'm not the only one that sweats at night."

"Why you little-" She makes a chocking motion with her hands.

We were sitting in Katniss's yard, just talking about random things; hunting, friends, life in general. A bath was apparently one of those topics, but one Katniss didn't want to go further into it, knowing it turn into some awkward, perverted comment by one of us, either intentionally or unintentionally.

"We both need showers. Let's leave it at that before it gets awkward." Katniss says.

"Alright. Alright." I raise my hands.

I turn to look out at the street and find Gale walking to the house.

"Hawthorne." I say somewhat bitterly. "I think I'm going to go Katniss. I don't want to start anything."

"Ok. I'll see you later." She said.

I deicide to start running, jumping over the fence in Katniss's yard. I take a quick glance at Gale, who of course ignores me, only looking forward. I just keep running. I was to meet up with Peeta at his house. He was making a kind of bread he never makes and wanted me to try it out.

And who am I to say no?

I know. I'm fat. Not laterally, but you know what I mean. Heh.

* * *

"How much of this stuff did you make?" I ask as I see what looks like a room full of crescent, flaky, golden croissants.

"I'm not even sure. Someone from the Capital sent in an order for all this. My guess is maybe a party or something. Go ahead, try one." He said.

I grab one of the flaky pastries and carefully examine it, bring it close to my eye. I turn the pastry in my hand to examine it further.

"Just eat the damn pastry." Peeta says in impatience.

"Alright. Calm down." I take a huge bite of the croissant, taking half of the entire thing. It was sweet, warm, and had one of my favorite flavors in it.

"Chocolate?" I say in surprise, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. It's filled with chocolate. It's not like I'm trying to poison you or anything." He says with a smirk.

I look into the pastry to find a brown liquid oozing from the inside.

"Damn. Way to get me hooked on them. I'll have to make this myself." I say as I stick the rest into my mouth.

"But then you wouldn't need me. I'd feel useless." Peeta said jokingly. I simply shake my head.

"Useless? Then why did this man hire you to make these instead of me? Or anyone else?" I say.

"Good point." Peeta gives a small laugh. "By the way, are you still burning houses down?"

I shoot him a glare while he starts laughing at my expense. A cross my arms. He's always been bringing that up, ever since I started cooking. It was annoying to say the least.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" I ask.

"No."

"But that was only once! I didn't even burn your house down!"

"But you smoked us out like you would do to bees. Almost killed us and the house smelled like a smoker for a good three weeks."

"But no one died."

"We almost died."

"But no one did."

"It doesn't matter, you nearly killed us."

"I'm going to kill you if you don't shut up about it."

"Try it!" Peeta shouted, slapping me on the back of the head.

At first, I'm in shock. The only person to hit me there and allowed to was Katniss. I don't let other people hit me, especially there. May sound weird, but that's how it is. Katniss had woken me up like that multiple times, but from her it's expected. Him...not so much.

"Oh hell no! You're dead bitch!" I yell. Peeta takes to the door, grinding like a madman, me right behind him. He barely makes it out his front door before I tackled him to the ground, wrapping my arm around his arm in a painful position.

"Yeld!"

"Screw that!" Peeta says with a smirk as he rolled, throwing me off him, now reversing our positions.

"How about you yeld!"

"Takes more then a bullet to bring down this Bull Moose!" I say.

"Theodore Roosevelt quotes? Really? Now of all times?" He said with a roll of his eyes.

"It works for me, because I'm a damn bull moose! And if you mess with a damn bull moose, you get messed up!" I take him into a head lock.

It's like this for half a minute, the me keeping him in the headlock while he tries to free himself. He's not successful and starts tapping my arm, signaling to let go.

"Alright. You win. I yield." He chokes out. I release him and he takes a deep intake of air while I stand up.

"Damn. I almost had you."

"Almost is another way of saying 'I failed.' but not admitting it." I say.

"God, you're an ass."

"I try." I say, bowing slightly. Peeta palms his face.

"How do I know you?"

"Technically you came up to me and said hello a few year back when you were at school, maybe around age ten. I barely knew you until around twelve."

"I didn't mean it literally."

"Well I answered your question regardless."

...

"God, my throat."

I turn to look at him. "Yeah sorry about that."

"It's alright. I kind of had that coming." He says while rubbing his neck.

Peeta and I haven't had one of our wrestling rounds in awhile. It's fun, and I'm always the one that wins, but that's to be expected. Funny thing about us is that we've really only known each other for about three years, yet we were very much like brothers to the other. I see him as a little brother, even though he's as old as I am.

"So, how are you and Madge getting along?" I ask.

Peeta and Madge had been dating for some time, maybe a few months now. They started when Katniss and I were in the Games. They sought each other for comfort, with Peeta being my friend and Madge being Katniss'. After everything, they were much more comfertable around each other, and they started dating, now attracted to the other. They seem happy, though they're nervous about the physical aspect of the relationship. The most they do is a peck on the cheek or the lips. Nothing more.

"It's okay. Were still kind of nervous about some things, but we're gaining ground. Took her out in the wilderness and showed her that waterfall two days ago."

"But that's a twelve hour walk. How did you convince her to walk all that way?"

"It's not hard with her. She use to be timid a little back then, but now she wants to try a lot of things. She complained a little about the distance, but she said it was worth it. I have to say it was too." He said with a smile.

"Well, sounds like you two are doing well then. But I don't like that smile. What happened over there?" I say with a dirty smile.

"Oh god no! Don't even joke about that!" He shouts, his face turning red.

"Well, I have something to use against you when you bring up me burning houses down." Peeta simply glares at me.

"Screw you Alto."

* * *

**Few Hours Later...**

"Where's that damn deer? I thought you said you knew were it was." I say in an irritated tone.

"I thought I had it. The tracks it left should of lead us to it. I don't know what happened." Peeta said.

"That's the last time I let you track animals."

"Hey, I'm trying to help."

"You need more practice. I'll teach you more after this. Let me take point." I say as I take the front.

After that little wrestling match we had, Peeta, myself, and a few other went out hunting. Peeta and I had found a tracks from a deer. We had yet to find it though.

"Hmm. Either he's walked here multiple times or another deer walked into his tracks. They're going in multiple directions."

"See. It wasn't me 'being mental' as you would say it." He says.

"Sorry for doubting your abilities. Ok, only way we'll find him is if we each take a track. I'll follow the one that leads forward, you'll take the other."

"Got it. Note if we kill him?" Peeta asks, mentioning the two tone note.

"Yeah." We each take to opposite directions.

When I stalk animals, I usually start crouch walking when I see him. When looking, I walk like I normally would, only more quietly. We're around where Katniss's lake is. Peeta doesn't know that though, and. His track lead to the opposite direction of the lake. Wouldn't want Katniss getting mad at me.

I follow the tracks, loosing them for a short amount of time when I hit some rocks. I think it may be a few minutes until I see him.

"My, my, a fifteen pointer. Quite a size for a deer."

I wasn't lying either. You could almost mistake it for a dwarf elk, and that's still big.

"Just a little closer." I whisper as I crouch walk towards a pair of thick bushes.

When I glance at the deer again, I know I have it. The distance is maybe a few meters, close enough that it would seem point blank range with a bow. I just have to move slowly and quietly. I pull my bow of my back and swing is slowly in front of me, gently pulling and arrow and reading my bow. I'm ready, but I need the deer's neck facing me. I want to get this thing.

'Come on. Come on.' I encourage it in my thoughts. He might have heard me, because he does turn. I fire.

Dead on mark. The arrow sinks into its throat. But something else catches my eye. As the deer falls, another arrow flies above it, missing where its head would be.

'Might that be Peeta?' My question's answered very quickly.

"Damn it!" Oh god. Not Gale. I quickly do the two tone note before walking to retrieve my bounty.

"Of course it's you." Gale says harshly as he shows himself.

"No need to get all pissy Gale."

"That was my kill you know."

"Then why is my arrow in its throat?" I ask.

"I've been tracking this deer for a few days now. It was mine by right."

"Technically, nature belongs to no one, even animals. It didn't take that long to track this deer. I say, if you shoot it and kill it, it's yours. Unfortunately for you, I killed it first."

"God your annoying."

"Annoying?" I raise my eyebrow. "We both just so happen to go after the same animal, and I manage to kill it first. And that makes me annoying? Stop being a whiny bitch already." I say in an aggravated tone.

Gale glares at me. "I don't know what Katniss sees in you."

"Alright, enough of this bull." I say while dropping the deer on my back. What I noticed is that he mentioned Katniss. Did she have to do with anything? "Why the hell do you hate me?"

"Screw off Alto. I don't need to explain anything to you." He says while crossing his arms.

"Well I need a damn explanation. Why do you hate me? What the hell did I do to you? I didn't hurt or insult anyone you see as close, I even offer to give your family money to help you, and you still hate me for it. Why? What the hell did I do to make you hate me with every fiber of your being?! What did I do damn it, what?!"

"You were born." He says even more harshly then the last time.

I literally growl in frustration. My head was pounding due to all this stress, and it was clear Gale wasn't going to offer anything to enlighten me on any of this.

"You know what, fine. Don't tell me. Just act like a little girl. See if I care. I don't need the stress right now. Take the damn deer if you want it so badly."

"I'd rather not have anything you touched. Don't know if you poisoned it." He says in a low tone.

"Oh, screw you. I'll take it then." I say as I sling it over my shoulder. "But don't start bitching and complaining when you want it back, ass."

I find myself on the floor with a sharp pain in my head a moment later.

I glance at Gale, who has his fist out, which means he punched me. I simply stare at him for a short time before I slowly pick myself up, careful not to lose my balance while keeping an eye on Gale. I fall back to the ground though.

"What a damn cheep shot." I say while holding my head.

"Hell, it helped me feel better." He said with a smirk.

That smirk quickly disappears when he's thrown to the ground, landing face first. He quickly glances at me, but finds a blond haired, blue eyed boy standing in front of him.

"Get out of here Gale." Peeta says in a dangerous tone.

Gale holds his lowers jaw, making sure it's still in place before he picks himself up and slowly walks away.

Peeta comes beside me and kneels, checking if I'm alright.

"You okey Alto?"

"I think so." I say while still holding my right temple, where Gale had punched me. "Kind of dizzy though."

"Well that's expected. He hit you without any warning. You'll be alright though. You're not bleeding, but it's red like hell. It'll turn black and purple in an hour or two."

"Oh great."

"What are you going to tell Katniss?"

"I have to tell the truth." I say while blinking rapidly. "She needs to know what happened, otherwise Gale might switch it up on both of us."

"Yeah your right. I doubt Katniss would like it either way."

"You're telling me."

* * *

"What happened to your head?" Katniss says in a semi-concerned tone.

Peeta was right about my head. The area around my right temple had gone black. About the size of my palm.

"Your 'friend' Gale," I put empathize on the friend part. "Punched me in the head."

"What?! Why?" She said as she placed a bag of ice on my head.

"I supposedly stole a kill from him. We tracked the same animal and I managed to kill it first. We got into a short argument. Then I asked him why he hated me. He didn't answer me. We argued a little more before he finally had enough and punched me without warning. Peeta had to step it before it got out of hand."

"Uhhh." Katniss groans. "This is getting out of hand. Arguing was one thing, throwing punches is another. He hit you first?"

"Yeah. I found myself on the floor with a sharp pain in my head. I didn't hit back, Peeta did that for me. He left afterwards. And that was that."

"I have to talk to him tomorrow. What he did wasn't necessary or called for." Katniss walks into the kitchen while I hold the bag of ice.

"There's going to be a fair amount of yelling from you two." I say, taking the glass of water and pills Katniss hands to me.

"It's nothing I haven't been through already. He yells at me to begin with." She says.

I groan slightly as I hold my head with both my hands.

"Has Gale ever said anything to you about me? Maybe why we're together or something like that?" I ask.

"No. It's normally about be missing a shot. But it's hard to concentrate when the person next to you screams 'SHOOT!' in your ear."

"Well for some reason, he brought that up momentarily. He said he didn't understand what you see in me. Are you sure you two weren't something special back then?"

"No." Katniss says in annoyance. "We were just friends. Nothing more. I don't see why he would bring that up though. Maybe he hates you so much he'd rather see me with someone else."

"That makes sense." I say. "I need a nap."

"I wouldn't recommend sleeping right now. He hit you hard. I'll give you two more hours until you can sleep."

"Aw damn. That'll be difficult."

"Well try finding something to preoccupy yourself." Katniss says.

"What do I do?"

"I don't know, anything. Something simple would be enough. Like...counting to a hundred or...thinking of memories. Something."

"How about you kiss my boo boo and make it feel all better?" I say with some humor. Katniss looks at me, trying to put on a serious face, but her smile breaks through.

"Would that help?" She says smirking.

I nod, but stop shortly after when the pain kicks in. She bends down slightly and kisses the black bruise on my head. I wince a little from the contact. But I enjoy it non the less.

"All better?" She asks in a motherly tone.

"Much better." I answer like a child. Katniss lets out a small chuckle.

"How do you make me do these things for you?" She asks while shaking her head, taking a seat on the couch I'm sitting on.

"I'm just that kind if guy. You're willing to do anything for me."

"Not everything. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She says while wiggling her index finger.

"Okay, almost everything." I say while I slowly lay my head on her lap. She doesn't mind and simply runs her hand through my hair, laying her head on the back of the couch and closes her eyes.

"I remember when things like this happened to us before; we would react like the other had the bloody plague. Now it's just so...natural. Like its second nature." Katniss says.

"Kind of strange how things worked out. I don't mind the outcome though." I say.

"I don't mind either." Katniss replies.

"Just let me sleep now please."

"No. I said two hours."

"Aww." I whine.

I contort my face into annoyance while releasing another small groan. Katniss decides to plant another kiss on my head. All I can do is smile.

* * *

**You may notice that Katniss is more open then she normally would be. But that's because she actually admits that she cares about Alto and doesn't fight it. Alto really cares about Katniss.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Been long, I know that.**

**There's conflict in this part.**

**Don't own Hunger Games.**

* * *

"Damn it, my head." I say as I gingerly touched my head. It was morning, and I was in bed. Katniss was out of bed, dressed in her hunting cloths.

"Pills and a glass of water are on the desk next to you." She says, pointing at the desk.

"Thanks." I reply.

After I take the pills, Katniss starts for the door.

"Just be careful Katniss. He may snap if you mention this to him."

"He won't hurt me, I know that. But that's not going to keep him from screaming at me. Don't worry so much. I'll see you later." Katniss walks through the door, leaving me to my thoughts and aching head.

She is right about Gale, he wouldn't seem like one to harm Katniss. But now that's not what I'm worrying about. I don't really want to ruin their friendship, if you could call it that. Hell, I think Katniss even around him calms him down even with his screaming. But I have another feeling behind that one too. Some strange foreboding of some sort, I don't know what it is though. Katniss probably felt something like when she went to get that medicine for me back during the Games.

I can't stay in this bed.

I slowly sit up, testing if my head would agitate me if I moved too quickly. My head's actually fine, I'm guessing it was just a strange hangover.

I decide to go out the front door, I don't need a strange spell coming over me while I'm climbing. I don't wasn't my neck to snap.

I get to my house and just throw on the shirt I wore yesterday, before heading back out the door to the Shelter. Today isn't a hunting for me, but that's Gale's doing.

I pass Peeta and Madge on my way.

"Alto? Shouldn't you be home?"

"I have some business to take care of. You don't need to know anything about it." I say rather harshly. I keep walking past them.

I'm there rather quickly, as I was jogging, and once I get their, I grab my tomahawk for self defense. Then I head out the makeshift door into the wilderness.

Now where did they meet again?

I never payed much attention to where Katniss met up with Gale. I've always been busy with my own things. I've only been there once, when Katniss tried to ease the tension between Gale and I. We did't catch a thing that day.

...

This foreboding hasn't gone away yet.

* * *

**Katniss POV**

What makes Gale think it's a good idea to hit someone over food? Sure, I understand he needs it over here, but just because Alto shot the damn thing and asked a question about this strange hatred doesn't justify it. What the hell happened between Gale and Alto when I wasn't around?

It takes a few minutes to find Gale. He wasn't where we normally meet. I have to search the area. I find him in a small clearing, with trees surrounding the clearing, their branches and leaves covering most of the sky.

He's just sitting there, picking the dirt from his fingernails with a knife. He doesn't acknowledge me, thought he knows I'm here.

"Gale." I say sternly.

"Gale." I say again.

"Damn it Gale, answer me!"

"What is is Katniss." He turns to me.

Haven't heard him use my real name since...now.

"I want an explanation about you hitting Alto."

...

"He took it from me." He states rather blandly.

"That's it? He took a deer? I know that already. That doesn't justify your actions." I'm already aggravated as it is, but to throw a blow for a deer?!

"I don't mean the deer."

"Then what did you mean?" At least he's opening up. I take a seat next to him.

"During the Games and after was hell for me." He starts. "You know that already."

"Yes, you told me how hopeless everything seemed. But that doesn't explain why you hate Alto." I say somewhat slowly. Why is he bringing the Games up? Was it something Alto's friends did to Gale? But why would they do anything?

"He took something close to me. Something I could almost call my own." He states, his head turned away from me.

"And what was that?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. He turns to me and stares me dead in the eyes.

"I think it's better if I show you."

He literally grabs me, forcing my back into a tree painfully. Before I even know what he's doing...

His lips are on mine.

My eyes are wide at this, larger then one of the cakes Peeta or Alto bake. Gale keeps hold of me, pinning me to the tree. I'm too shocked and in thought to try any do anything but stare.

Gale had feelings for me?

Yeah, I know he and I were close friends, but he never gave anything away that said he was attracted to me, or at least that's what I think. I won't lie, I was somewhat of a wreak of emotion back then. It always confused me, it just seemed so complicated to deal with, so I'd largely ignore it. But that was before the Games, and before Alto. Ever since then, I've leet my feelings go more, rather then push them away, because I realized that if you keep those emotions bottled up, it gets more complicated to understand them. Now we're seeing the result of my ignorance.

He still kissing, his tongue wondering my mouth since my jaw went slack. His hands go to my waist.

'No! We're not going through this again!'

I jerk my head back, ending the contact, but he pulls me in again, but now he's trying to get into my mouth.

"Gale stop!" I shout in anger. He simply ignores me, now pining my arms to my side.

"Gale!" He still won't listen.

That's it!

Just before I kick him off me, he's thrown back by another force that's not my own. By now, I already know who this is, and I'm dreading the moment. He had to follow me here? I could have ended it with it with a kick and a few other things, but he butts in.

Gale was forced a few feet back, kneeling, rubbing his jaw. Alto stood in front of me, staring down at Gale.

This isn't going to end well.

* * *

**Alto POV**

I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Damn that foreboding, why is it always right?!

This is why Gale's been so uptight around me? Katniss? Katniss said they had nothing special, and frankly I believe her. She probably didn't see the signs because she was focused with other things. I'm sorry if he thinks he had her first, but she chose me back in the Games.

Well...maybe not entirely, but still, she chose me.

Gale picks himself up, and if looks could kill, I'd be dead right now. He's bearing his teeth, and takes a step forward.

"Back off Gale." I say in a low, threatening tone, crouching slightly to give off a warning with body language.

He gives a strange growl, then charges towards me, his fist cocked back. I do the same, charging him, and we just to happen to punch each other in the face.

And then the fight begins.

When pitted against each other, we both have weaknesses and strengths. Gale has height over me, though I have more weight. We both hunt, are experts at tracking game and taking it out. We have hours of endurance. We're very much equal.

There is one thing, however, that separates us.

I survived the Games.

He hasn't.

That doesn't seem like much from anyone, but that was one hell of a hunt. The weapons training I went though before and during the Games were gruesome, and that gives me skills Gale doesn't have. Of course I'm not going to fight him with a sword or anything, but I have unrivaled hand-to-hand combat skills.

And that's that.

After our fists find our faces, I quickly spin, giving more power to the blow I land into his stomach. He grunts, but ignores it, throwing a fist to my head again. I catch it, then pull him towards me, throwing a knee into his stomach again. This time, he doubles over, and I quickly jump back, his arm swinging and trying to take out my legs. He charges again, but the kick he throws is caught by my chest. The air is forced out of my lungs, but I grab his head in one hand and slam my other into his head. He drops, and doesn't look like he's going to get back up, with him rolling on the floor a little. Seeing as that it is over I begin to walk towards Katniss.

Oy, was I wrong.

Half way to her, she shouts. "Gale! No!"

I turn, just in time to see Gale charging me again. But his eyes don't seem to be his. His eyes are dark, he's overcome with rage, but that's the least of my problems.

The main thing I see is the knife in his hand.

After the Games, Katniss and I developed something similar to PTSD, though not in the way a man would come back after WWll would. I also developed what I could call my 'second' state of mind. Basically, my body sees something that can endanger me and decides to label the person with 'KILL ON SIGHT!' It's as if my bodies back in the Games with the same injuries I had then, which pumps more adrenalin into my body, thinking it's injured. It's kind of like going slow-mo and your body had a mind of it's own. It's rather problematic.

And the worst part is, I see Clove instead of Gale.

My body reacts before my mind has time to contemplate anything. My back's still facing him. Without turning, I swing my left arm, throwing off his attack by grabbing his arm, the throw a back kick at his knife arm.

CRACK!

Gale lets out a roar of pain, his arm now able to touch his shoulder backwards, but falls on his back after I sideswipe him. He loses his grip on the knife, and I catch it. I slam a foot into his chest, aim for his skull, bring my arm up for the final blow, and force if forward.

Only my arm doesn't come back down.

I quickly turn, finding Katniss clawing at the knife in my hand. Her eyes are wide with panic and she shouts to me. "ALTO?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

My senses come back to me at that instant. I glance to the ground, Gales' tired eyes stating back at me in interest and shock. I drop the knife.

I'm breathing heavily, the result of my actions now getting to me. I had nearly killed Gale. I almost ended his life, in front of Katniss.

"Get out of here Gale." I say lowly. It's not threatening, but more of a plead. He answers by picking himself up, taking back his knife on the ground, keeping an eye on me while he does it, then slowly walks away, clutching his broken arm.

I stand there, staring at the ground. Katniss will want answers about this, and I wouldn't blame her if she hated me right now for trying to kill her best friend. I literally waiting for the scolding she's going to give me.

"What the hell was that?" She asks.

The question doesn't surprise me, not too much. She's seen me do this a few times, four in all; twice during the Games and twice after.

"It's another thing the Games scarred me with." I say, my head still down. She doesn't say anything for awhile.

"We need to work on controlling that."

"If it's possible, sure."

"You think Gale will be alright?" I ask, turning to face her.

She looks in the direction that Gale took to. "I don't know. This is why I didn't want you to follow."

"Oh, so this is my fault then?" I say with some anger. She's blaming me for this? She had a part in this too.

"I could have handled it myself."

"Yes." Sarcastically now. "His lips on yours and you just sitting there was under control."

...

"It's both our faults." I say finally. "We both played a part in this little incident."

"I...I guess your right."

"Yeah." I look at the tree above me.

"Peeta! I know your up there!"

Sure enough, he falls from the tree, landing on his feet.

"Peeta?" Katniss asks.

"Hey Katniss." He gives a small wave.

"Peeta, did you-"

"I already alerted our healer. You messed his arm up pretty bad, breaking it at the elbow, but it'll heal. It will take time though, so you'll have to support him for awhile."

"It's the least I can do after what happened. Thanks Peeta."

"No problem Alto." He turns to Katniss. "It was nice seeing you." He takes to the forest.

"Why didn't he try to help when the fight got out of hand?" Katniss asks with a little anger.

"Had two people jumped on me, I'm still be in my state, and I would have possibly killed all three of you. He knows that you can jog my memories much better then anyone alive. He knew what he was doing." I start heading to the direction of Twelve.

"We should get going. I need to talk to Ms. Hawthorne. She'll want answers about what happened to Gale's arm. You want to come ease the tension?"

"Yeah, I'll come." She follows behind me.

"Uuhhhhh." I rub my head.

Why can't things be simple?

When we make it to Hawthorne's house, the healer is just leaving out the door. We both thank him as he passes by. Katniss knocks on the door, and without a second to waste, Ms. Hawthorne opens the door. She gives me a look that says she already knows what happened, and asks us to elaborate. So Katniss and I go into every detail, we can possibly remember. From Gale kissing Katniss, to the start of the fight, and to the end. She shakes her head at points, telling us to continue. When we're finished, her face softens.

"Gale told me the same story."

That was a shock.

I'd though for sure that Gale would try to switch it up on me, but perhaps the close call with death steered him the right direction.

She explains in to us, how he told it, how the healer said it would be months before he could use his arm. I promise to compensate for Gale's injuries and inability to work, which she's grateful for. Katniss and I decide that there's nothing else to discuss, so we begin to make our way home.

"Alto? Can a talk to you for a second?" Ms. Hawthorne asks.

"I'll catch up with you Katniss." I make my way to Ms. Hawthorne. "Yes Ma'am?" I ask politely.

"My son's too stubborn to say it himself, so I'll apologize for his behavior. I'm not sure where he got the idea."

"Actually, I don't blame him. He was the one to have Katniss first." I say as I glance behind me, looking at Katniss. "I basically came out of nowhere and took her from him."

"That doesn't justify his actions. He knows that you two are together, but he couldn't help himself. He really cares for her."

"Yeah. I guess that'a another thing Gale and I share."

"But was it really necessary to break his arm?" She asks.

"I'm sorry about his arm, and had I been all there, I'd of done something else."

"What do you mean you weren't all there?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have a second state of mind that fights for me sometimes; just a body reaction. My body reacts for my mind, and it believes that I'm back in the Games. When Gale pulled that knife...I saw Clove instead. I...I could see her eyes, her hair, had skin, her face, her body, and her knifes. She's what I saw when Gale pulled the knife. Had Katniss not been there, I would have-"

"I don't need to hear anymore Alto." She says softly, her face showing some sorrow. "Thank you for clearing this up." I turn and begin pressing forward.

"And Alto?"

I turn to face her again, her face still showing sorrow.

"I'm sorry." She doesn't state what she's sorry about, but I already know.

"Yeah...so am I."

I walk away.

* * *

**I had the need to add conflict, and that was one way I could add, since Gale did have a thing for Katniss. In no way do I hate Gale, in fact, I like him more then Peeta, not to be mean or anything.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Now takes place during the book.**

**Don't own Hunger Games. **

* * *

Oh god.

This day came way too fast.

It's been a few months after the incident between Me and Gale. His arm's out of the cast if you believe it or not. I had called a doctor from the Capital to pay Gale a visit for the arm. Gale was reluctant to have the doctor look at his arm, but he eventually lost that battle. The doctor was able to bring six months, to two months. His arm's working fine, but he need to redevelop strength, and he's nicer to Katniss. She's been visiting him every now and then; helping Gale out with some day to day tasks he still can't do himself. I keep my distance, not knowing if he wants to see me at all, and I'd rather avoid friction. We'd all gone about our lives since then, though that's going to end today.

Reporters, the camera crews, our prep team, even Effie Trinket is going to be here, including both Cinna and Portia. They're all here to get us ready for the Victory Tour.

That damn Victory Tour.

Both Katniss and I would like nothing more then to forget everything about the Games. Just to forget all the bull the Capital put us through, but the Games have already scarred us beyond any healing, and this tour just adds the icing to the cake. Situated half way between the Reapings, it's just a case reminder that the Capital can control us.

If only I had killed Snow...

I can't think about that. The time for that passed, and we have to deal with it now.

Katniss and I are out in the wilderness, hunting right now for Gale. I haven't shot anything today and it's nearly daylight. I can ably hope Katniss has had better luck.

I decide to sit there on top of a hill, just watching the sunset at that moment, in which I think Katniss is doing too. I remember seeing her bring some tea with her, and the reason, is trying to forget about this day and wishing it would never come.

Wish that could happen.

A gust of wind temporarily takes me out of thought, and I pull my jacket closer to me. It's been getting colder; it looks like it actually might snow today. I wouldn't mind, I love the snow. It may make it slightly harder to track animals, but that still doesn't flatten my mood for the white powder.

I stand and start making my way back into Twelve. I had nothing better to do, so I'll just...wait, I have to go to Peeta. He baked some bread for us today, and he'd like me to take it to Haymitch's house. Katniss is going to bring him his wine in a little while too. God I hate his withdraws. All that screaming and shouting of untold horrors he's experienced scares me more then it does Prim. She just sees a man going crazy, I see a man who's had similar experiences to me, but he's had it far worst. I could only imagine...

"Peeta! You up?" I shout.

Five minutes and no one answers.

"Peeta!" Again, now answer.

"Damn it Peeta." I say as I grab a ledge and start climbing his house. His window's normally unlocked.

I get up quickly, slide his window open, and quietly step inside. Sure enough he's in his bed out cold, so I wake him.

Smack!

"Ow!" He immediately sits up in his bed, clutching the back of his head. "The hell's wrong with you?!"

"Hey, you smacked me once, that one you deserve."

"Why couldn't it be when I was awake?" He groans, eyeing me.

"It wouldn't be as fun." He shakes his head.

"You and your fun. Come on, your breads down here." He stands from bed and makes his way to his kitchen.

"There's your damn bread." He points at the basket of bread. I take it, but I notice one distinct piece of bread.

"Why sugar bread? Isn't it a bit early?"

"Since when did that stop you from eating sweets in the morning?"

"This is for me? Oh, how sweet of you." I say with a smirk.

"I thought of you." He says, playing around with it.

Smack!

"Ow!" He grabs his head again. "That's it!"

I have just enough time to drop the bread to safety before Peeta tackles me.

* * *

"I was right!" I shout to no one in particular, staring at the sky. Katniss just gives me a strange look, one that says 'idiot.'

I'm making my way to Haymitch's house, and snows starting to fall. I've caught up with Katniss, or she caught up with me.

"Do you like snow?" I ask her.

"I don't really know. I like it sometimes, but then I hate it others."

"So a love-hate relationship, alright."

It's only a half-mile walk form where Katniss and I met, which was the center of town, and we make it to Haymitch's house.

The main difference between my house, Kantiss's house, and Haymitch's house, it that the inside of his is very messy. He won't let anyone in to clean, and he rarely does it himself. Katniss braces herself before we open the door.

Years the odors of liquor and vomit, boiled cabbage and burned meat, unwashed clothes and mouse droppings have intermingled into a stench that brings tears to both our eyes when the wave washes over us. We carefully step over bones, wrappings, and broken bottles before we reached him. He's sitting the kitchen table, his arms sprawled across the wood, his face in a puddle of liquor, snoring.

"Get up!" Katniss shouts, nudging his shoulder. We both know there's no quiet way to wake him. He seems to ignore her shouting. She shouts again. "Get up, Haymitch! It's tour day!" While she's attempting to wake him, I open a window, letting in some non-chocking air, and find a coffee pot on the floor and fill it. This will have to wake Haymitch up when we actually wake him.

Katniss takes a basin and fills it with ice cold water, and I'm standing in from of Haymitch. She throws the water on his head an quickly springs out of the way. A guttural animal sound comes from his throat as he jumps up, kicking his chair ten feet behind him and wields his knife.

I nearly forgot about that.

Spewing profanity, he slashes at me, but I simply swat the knife away and slap his face to wake him up.

Smack!

I seem to be in a slapping mood today.

He spins twice at the contact, but starts to get his bearings, and stares at both of us. Katniss is at the open window, ready to make a quick exit if the slap wasn't enough.

"I didn't know you'd slap him."

"Quickest way to wake him and snap him out of it."

"Wha-what-what? Huh..." Haymitch squawks. He wipes his face with his sleeve, and then looks at us.

"What are you doing?" He sputters.

"You told me to wake you an hour before the cameras come." Katniss say.

"What?" He says.

"Your idea," I insist.

He seems to remember. "Why am I all wet?"

"I couldn't shake you awake." Katniss says.

"Asked you to wake me without giving me pneumonia." He replies.

"It was either leave you here or wake you in the quickest way possible. We went with the latter. There's bread for you if you're hungry." I turn to Katniss. "You want some?"

"I'm fine, I ate at the Hob."

"Come on you two. You need to get your act together when the cameras arrive." Haymitch says.

"We'll go hormonal teens when they get here. Go take a bath Haymitch." She turns to me. "I'll see you at my house." She's through the window and walking to her house the next second.

"She seems to be bothered by something." Haymitch states, cleaning his face with his shirt.

"You noticed too? Something's aggravating her, but I haven't asked what. Last time I did she dismissed it every time I asked until she stopped talking to me for three days."

"I say talk to her now. It might complicate things during the tour."

"Yeah. I'll see you." I walk out the door.

When I'm outside, I look through the large window that Katniss's house has, displaying the living room and kitchen. I can see everyone, but there's a man in there that I've never seen. He's wearing all black, and ushers her thought the hallway, tithe study.

I go behind the house, finding the window to the study unlocked, like most of the windows, slide it open, and step in. But there was a strange smell when I came in. Something...familiar.

Blood and roses.

'It can't be...'

I look at the door, and Katniss had just entered the room. Her eyes land on me first, with a raised eyebrow, but then both our attention is pointed at the white haired man reading a book. He raises a finger, saying to give him a minute. He closes it, and then turns to us.

'My god...It's him.'

"I'm glad both of you could make it." He says. His voice send a shiver down my spine.

"I think this whole situation will be much simpler if we agree not to lie to each other." Snow says. "What do you think?"

"Yes, I think that would save time." I answer for both of us, trying to keep my voice leveled and actually doing it right.

He smiles, looking at Katniss. "My advisors were concerned you would be difficult, but you're not planning on being difficult, are you?" He asks her.

"No."

"That's what I told them. I said any girl and boy who goes to such lengths to preserve each others life isn't going to be interested in throwing it away with both hands. And then there's both their families to think of. Her mother, her sister, his friends, and all those ... cousins."

Katniss and I know he's referring to Gale.

"Sit." He gestures to the table. Both Katniss and I take a chair in front of the rest, while he occupies the one on front of us.

"I have a problem, Miss Everdeen and Mr Hayes." Says President Snow. "A problem that began the moment you decided to keep and then pulled out those poisonous berries in the arena."

"Had the Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane, been in the right mind set, he'd have blown you to dust then and there. But he had an unfortunate sentimental streak, so here you are. Can you guess where he is?"

'Dead.' I think. Both Katniss and I nod.

"After that, there was nothing to do but let you play out your little scenario. And you were pretty good too," He looks to Katniss."With the love-crazed schoolgirl bit. The people in the Capitol were quite convinced. Unfortunately, not everyone in the districts fell for your act." He says.

What?

"This, of course, you don't know. You have no access to information about the mood in other districts. In several of them, however, people viewed your little trick with the berries as an act of defiance, not an act of love. And if a girl from District Twelve of all places can defy the Capitol and walk away unharmed, what is to stop them from doing the same?" He says. "What is to prevent, say, an uprising?"

So that's were Peeta's getting his information from.

Damn, this is mind boggling.

"There have been uprisings?" She asks.

"Not yet. But they'll follow if the course of things doesn't change. And uprisings have been known to lead to revolution." President Snow rubs a spot over his left eyebrow. "Do you have any idea what that would mean? How many people would die? What conditions those left would have to face? Whatever problems anyone may have with the Capitol, believe me when I say that if it released its grip on the districts for even a short time, the entire system would collapse."

Just because of us?

"It must be very fragile if a handful of berries can bring it down." Katniss says. I'm slightly taken back by the choice of words, but I'm smiling inside.

There's a long pause while he examines her, then he simply says. "It is fragile, but not in the way that you suppose."

There's a knock at the door, and the Capitol man sticks his head in. "Her mother wants to know if you want tea."

"I would. I would like tea," Says Snow. The door opens wider, and here comes Katniss's mother, holding a tray with a china tea set she brought to the Seam when she married, or I think that's what Katniss told me. "Set it here please." He places his book on the corner of the desk and pats the center.

Her mother sets the tray on the desk. It holds a china teapot and cups, cream and sugar, and a plate of cookies. They were iced with softly colored flowers. The frosting work was Peeta and my work.

"What a welcome sight. You know, it's funny how often people forget that presidents need to eat, too," President Snow says charmingly. Well, it seems to relax her mother a bit.

"Can I get you anything else? I can cook something more substantial if you're hungry," She offers.

"No, this could not be more perfect. Thank you," He says, clearly dismissing her. Her mother nods, shoots both of us a glance, and goes. President Snow pours tea for all three of us and fills his with cream and sugar, then takes a long time stirring. I sense he has had his say and is waiting for us to respond.

"We didn't mean to start any uprisings," We tell him.

"I believe you, but it doesn't matter. Your stylist, Cenia, turned out to be prophetic in his wardrobe choice. Katniss Everdeen: the girl on fire. And you." He points at me. "They've been calling you Phoenix. You two have provided a spark that, left unattended, may grow to an inferno that destroys Panem." He says.

'Phoenix...I remember Thresh calling me that during the Games.'

"Why don't you just kill us now?" Katniss blurts out.

'What the hell are you doing?!' I think.

"Publicly?" He asks. "That would only add fuel to the flames."

"Arrange an accident, then." She says. I glance at her with some worry in my eyes.

"Who would buy it?" He asks. "Not you, if you were watching."

"Then just tell us what you want us to do. We'll do it," I say.

"If only it were that simple." He picks up one of the flowered cookies and examines it. "Lovely. Your mother made these?"

"Alto and a friend of his." Katniss answers.

"Peeta, if I'm correct." Snow says. It doesn't surprise me that he knows who he was, but it frightens me none the less.

"Both of you'll have to do even better this time around about being in love if the uprisings are to be averted." He says. "This tour will be your only chance to turn things around."

"We'll convince them." I say.

President Snow rises and dabs his puffy lips with a napkin. "Aim higher in case you fall short."

"What do you mean? How can we aim higher?" I ask.

"Convince me" He says. He drops the napkin and retrieves his book. Katniss doesn't watch him as he heads for the door, but he stops short, and says quietly. "By the way, I think it'd be best if you stop seeing your cousin all together. I don't need you distracted."

Then the door clicks shut behind him.


End file.
